Born:
September 21, 1931
in
Fort Worth, Texas
Trivia:
Married Swedish designer Maj Axelsson in 1955. They had two children, Preston and Kristina.
Best Known For:
Playing JR Ewing in Dallas.
Early-life:
Born Larry Martin Hagman on September 21, 1931, the son of a district attorney and his teenage bride Mary Martin, who went on to become a Broadway musical star. His parents divorced when he was very young, and he lived with his grandmother, who died when he was 12. He moved back in with his recently remarried mother and started his showbusiness career in the same West End South Pacific cast as the then unknown Sean Connery.
Career:
After five years in South Pacific, Hagman joined the US Air Force, but later returned to acting. He became a star as astronaut Anthony Nelson in TV sitcom I Dream of Jeannie. Stage roles and films such as The Hired Hand, Stardust, The Eagle Has Landed and Mothers, Jugs and Speed followed before Dallas made him a major star in the late 1970s. After it was axed in 1991, he suffered major health problems due to years of drinking, and needed a liver transplant. He returned to the iconic role of JR Ewing in a couple of TV specials and a reboot in 2012. He died on November 23, 2012, at the age of 81.
Quote:
"I made money. Enough so I don't have to work again. But I'd like to, I really would. But I'd want to do something interesting like Santa Claus - or God."